The goal of change for Malawi rest with today's children who will become tomorrow's next generation of leaders.

By Charlie FiskeFor The Enterprise

May 14, 2014
12:01 a.m.

Three weeks passed before having a first time feeling that the two years in Malawi had now become part of my life back in America. Graciousness and poverty define both the strength and vulnerability of Malawi and its 16 million residents. Each of these conditions seemed to have found their way into most of my comments and observations about the "warm heart of Africa - Malawi"

Last week after leaving the State's veterans services office in downtown Boston, I passed a uniformed doorman stationed in front of an office building on Washington Street. Within a split second of passing him I turned around and walked back and tapped my finger on his chest and said, "Who are you and where are you from?"

The long second of silence gave way to his broad smile when he told his name and said proudly, "I'm from Sudan". He had been named after his grandfather and volunteered that his son would be called by the same name. There was an instant connection and our rapid fire conversation went on for five minutes.

He was curious about my stay in Malawi and seemed genuinely excited that he'd connected with a fellow traveler on the streets of Boston. We both lamented about missing the level of friendliness that we'd experienced in Africa. There can be friendly conversations with strangers here but it's certainly not a regular occurrence.

In Malawi the conversation could have lasted twenty minutes but this is America and we were both "too busy" for it to last longer. Living in the moment was happening between two strangers on the streets of Boston.

A short distance away when walking up Winter Street towards the State House a stranger called out, "Give me a cigarette and some money". Sitting on the sidewalk in clothes that had outlived their usefulness was a man who looked to be in his mid 50's. It has taken three weeks to come across anyone here to begging for money.

Within the space of less than a half kilometer I was transported back to my more familiar surroundings of Malawi where both overwhelming friendliness and visible poverty seemed to walk hand in hand. Today's meeting of two strangers was a subtle reminder that for all the warmth and friendliness of Malawians it is a country trapped in its own struggle of poverty. Friendliness and begging seemed a daily part of everyday Malawi life.

If only there was a way to bottle the Malawian graciousness for the US and strategically address head on the economic woes for Malawi the world would be better off. We could distribute the Malawi friendliness to all her and fix the broken wheel of Malawi's economy.

There was a concern when asked what I thought of Malawi. The stock answer was, "The people of Malawi are so friendly and gracious" Yet that always seemed to be followed by the comment, "Yes we are a friendly country, but we are a poor country." That response seemed to be code for another message, 'because we are poor you need to give us money'.

The two years in Malawi become a quiet environment for viewing how we live here in America and how we need learn better ways to contribute to the ongoing relationship with our neighbors 8,000 miles away. The secret is to bring change but change that is driven and directed by Malawians themselves. Change for Malawi will continue to be a work in progress.